There has been considerable prior art for cartridge ejection mechanisms, and the prior art dates back to mid-20th century times, with cartridge or spent cartridge case ejection mechanism of various structures and configurations. In the discussion below, the terms “cartridge case”, “spent cartridge case” and “case”, are used interchangeably, to mean the metal casing or holder, usually cylindrical in shape, that is loaded with a primer, powder charge, and bullet.
Cartridge cases drop at random to the ground or surface beneath or beside the firearm and in the course of ejection are liable to soil the clothing of the user or of onlookers nearby since they become fouled by reason of the explosive gases emitted upon firing. The random ejection of spent cartridge cases can be very disturbing or even injurious to someone standing close to the shooter when the gun is fired as the case is expelled from the gun with considerable violence.
When a shooter is standing close to a wall for protection of his or her body while operating a firearm, the shooter can be injured or burned when the spent cartridge case is randomly ejected from the firearm and ricochets from the nearby wall used as a shield.
The ejection and spill of empty cartridge cases on to the floor of aircraft and ships can create hazards, for example, the empty cases could become ingested into the aircraft engine or trigger slip and fall injuries to persons moving over the floor in the heat of battle. The spent cases also have some value as scrap material and it is economical to collect as many as possible for subsequent reuse and/or sale.
The known prior art includes several patents discussed below. U.S. Pat. No. 2,476,904 to C. A. Perry, has a breech block with an extractor that engages the cartridge case, extracts the empty cartridge, then exposes the cartridge through an ejection aperture below the barrel of a firearm. U.S. Pat. No. 2,866,289 to L. L. Wilcox describes an unloading attachment for rifles wherein an unloading tube acts as a guide way for cartridges. U.S. Pat. No. 3,000,126 to R. S. Robinson describes a cartridge guiding mechanism that guides the cartridge through an exit groove.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,087,387 to V. A. Browning describes a case catcher for firearms that moves rearward after firing wherein, the spent case is extracted from the firing chamber and drawn laterally before being ejected via an opening. U.S. Pat. No. 3,270,617 to R. V. Seymour et al. describes a case catcher attached to the reciprocal bolt of a firearm and is readily attached to existing firearms.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,733,728 to Kuslich describes a case catcher with parallel arms for repeating firearms. U.S. Pat. No. 4,265,042 Isola describes a cartridge retriever mounting and attaching device for a Colt M-16 rifle that is fitted on top of rifle with lugs. U.S. Statutory Invention Registration H211 to Vanderbeck discloses an extractor hook-feed ramp combination wherein the spent cartridge case spins around a pivot formed by the extraction hook.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,016 to D. E. Smith describes a self-loading pistol with an insertable mechanism for extracting empty cartridge cases. U.S. Pat. No. 5,307,724 to Breuer et al. describes dual claws fastened to the ends of L-shaped ejection levers used to remove empty cartridge cases from large caliber guns. U.S. Pat. No. 5,675,924 to Predazzer describes an ejection device for a firearm having an automatic or manual cycle using an extractor that catches the casing by its neck with an ejection lever mounted in a swiveling manner around an axis.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,002 to Blanchet describes a claw type device with a detachable container for receiving and collecting spent cases ejected from a firearm having a spent case ejection port. U.S. Patent Publication 2005/0235543 A1 to J. Murello describes a cartridge ejection mechanism with guide rods and pivoting extractors in a bolt head attached to the breech block of a firearm. U.S. Pat. No. 6,389,725 to Denuit provides an improvement to the Predazzer '924 patent supra to make sure the extractor exposes the casing when it is tilted.
These patents disclose the respective art in relation to ejecting cartridge cases from firearms, but do not disclose an easy to manufacture, spring-loaded, dual pivoting extractor with ejection chute on top of a firearm that safely extracts an empty cartridge case and does not interfere with the shooter's sight line.